Abstract
This study investigated the effects of applying a hot towel to a patient's back for ten seconds prior to wiping the skin (AHT10s) during a bed bath. We examined whether this procedure increased the skin's barrier function, thereby improving patients' cleanliness, skin temperature, and subjective evaluation of the bed bath. We conducted a crossover study with thirteen healthy adults (mean age : 24.1±1.5 years). Each participant received a bed bath with AHT10s and also a bed bath without hot towel application. The stratum corneum water content, transepidermal water loss（TEWL）, skin temperature, participants' sebum, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels were measured during the bed bathing sessions, and the experience was subjectively evaluated by participants. There were no significant differences between the two types of bed baths in terms of stratum corneum water content or TEWL, which are indicators of the skin's barrier function. Furthermore, participants' sebum and ATP levels decreased significantly for both types of bed baths. Thus, following a bed bath, skin becomes cleaner without decreasing the skin's barrier function, regardless of whether a hot towel is applied for ten seconds to the back of healthy adults. We also found that a bed bath with AHT10s raised skin surface temperature by 2.2℃. After fifteen minutes of dry wiping, a bed bath with AHT10s provides significantly more comfort to subjects than a bed bath without hot towel application.
